


Just Another Slayer

by shelley (jedi_penguin)



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Angst, F/M, Post Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-15
Updated: 2010-11-15
Packaged: 2017-10-13 05:33:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/133517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedi_penguin/pseuds/shelley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a post-“Chosen” world, there are lots of Slayers but just One Watcher in All the World.  Buffy wants to make sure she stands out from the crowd.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Another Slayer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [girlfromsouth](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=girlfromsouth).



> This was written for the [B/G Angstathon](http://www.livejournal.com/community/allthejellies/50626.html?view=212674#t212674). requested a smutty story with a hopeful ending.

So this is what it felt like, to be on other side. There was power in this room, but it sure as hell didn’t belong to her. Buffy hoped that Quentin Travers was getting a good laugh at her expense, wherever he was.

She went up to the desk again, even though she knew what the secretary would say. She had told Buffy the same thing twice already, but Buffy just couldn’t stay still any longer. “Um, do you have any idea how long this is going to take? Just a rough estimate?”

The secretary sneered at her, as Buffy had known that she would. “No, Ms. Summers, I don’t. Mr. Giles is a very busy man, and there are still six Slayers in line before you. I’m certain that he will get to you when he is able. Now, if you’ll excuse me?” She didn’t bother waiting for Buffy’s response before going back to typing, and Buffy bit down on the vile names she wanted to call the woman.

It wasn’t that Mrs. Grady was a bitch (though she _was_ , actually); she was just doing her job. Giles’ time was valuable now, and it was Mrs. Grady’s responsibility to make sure that he used it wisely. There were so few Watchers, and so many Slayers needing guidance, that Watchers were always in demand now. To make matters worse, Giles was every Slayer’s first choice. He was the only Watcher still living who had ever Watched an active Slayer, and his experiences were more precious than platinum.

It had been a little over five years since Buffy stood up to Travers and told him that without her he was good for nothing but Watching “Masterpiece Theatre.” He hadn’t liked it, but he had accepted it. She had been contemptuous of him, not understanding at the time just how difficult it can be to be a pragmatist. And now the shoe was on the other foot: there was one Watcher in all the World, and Slayers were a dime a dozen. The thought brought an ugly scowl to her face. Irony didn’t appeal to Buffy in the slightest; it never had.

A woman came out of Giles office, early thirties, long black hair. Something about her reminded Buffy of Ms. Calendar, and she wondered whether Giles had ever thought of dating this Slayer. The thought sent a dark stone of jealousy to the bottom of her stomach, even though she knew she had no right to feel that way. Giles could see whomever he wanted, and he could Watch whomever he wanted. He had thousands of Slayers now, not just Buffy. She had no claim on him, none. She wondered why she hated that fact so much. She wondered even more how she might go about changing that fact.

The Ms. Calendar wannabe sauntered over to the desk, and Buffy ground her teeth as she imagined the gorgeous Slayer making another appointment with Giles. A spurious one, no doubt, just a transparent excuse to see the head Watcher again. Buffy felt rather ridiculous when the woman simply got her parking validated and left.

Mrs. Grady called out, “Patricia Kimball!” A teenaged girl went in with an older woman, probably her mother, and Buffy settled back to wait some more. She brought an arm up, to shade her eyes from the glare coming off the window, and somehow managed to fall asleep.

She could have sworn that she only slept for a few moments, but the sun was sinking when she opened her eyes again. Mrs. Grady was shaking her.

“Oh! My turn?” Buffy asked.

“No, Ms. Summers,” she answered nastily. “It isn’t. The office is closing now, and you can’t stay here any longer.”

Buffy couldn’t believe it. True, she was no longer the One Girl in All the World, but this was too much. “But I never got to see Giles!”

“ **MISTER** Giles will be here tomorrow, and you are the first one on his schedule. Make sure you are here by promptly by 9:00, or your appointment time will be given to another Slayer.”

“I can’t believe you. I totally can’t believe you.” Buffy’s voice rose steadily in volume, until she was almost screaming. “I wait here for **four hours** , and I don’t even get to see **my** Watcher?”

“Buffy?” A quiet cultured voice coming from somewhere behind her almost broke through her rage. Almost.

“What sort of system is this, ‘Watcher by appointment only’? If—“

“A flawed one, I’m afraid.” Buffy swung around, and saw Giles leaning in the doorway, hands in his pockets. The familiarity of his posture squeezed her heart painfully, particularly when she noticed that Giles himself didn’t look very familiar at all. He looked younger, healthier… happier. Clearly, his new status agreed with him very much. “I’ll show Ms. Summers out and lock up, Mrs. Grady. Feel free to go home if you like.”

The secretary gave a disapproving sniff and narrowed her eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Mr. Giles.”

“Certainly, Mrs. Grady,” he replied smoothly.

“You’ll be early, I trust?” she asked suspiciously. “You remember that you have a very full schedule tomorrow and have no time to dilly-dally with pretty young girls”

Giles’ eyes narrowed dangerously, but his voice was even and uninflected. “I remember all my responsibilities. Thank you, Mrs. Grady. And good night.”

Mrs. Grady sniffed again, and then left without another word. Buffy stared at the door and muttered, “What a bitch!”

To her surprise, Giles laughed. “Yes, she is! Sadly, I’m stuck with her, just as she’s stuck with me.”

“Why don’t you fire her?” Buffy asked. “I mean, what’s the use of being the grand high poobah if you can’t fire a bitchy secretary?”

“An unfortunate side effect of an iron-clad mystical contract. It was meant to protect the Council, but it also prevents me from firing her. But you have managed to touch upon one of my fondest fantasies,” he chuckled.

A small thrill unexpectedly went through Buffy at the word “fantasies.” To her amazement, she found herself wondering what his other fantasies might entail. She was so caught up in her musings that she almost jumped when he put his hand on the small of her back. “I generally try to forget about Mrs. Grady when I leave for the day; I suggest that you do the same. In the meantime, why don’t you let me take you out to dinner? I’d like to know why you’re here.”

~*~*~

Giles took her to a small, intimate restaurant. The food was amazing, and the sedate atmosphere made it very easy to talk, but the choice confused Buffy. This wasn’t a business meeting sort of place; this was a date sort of place.

Giles was oblivious to the romantic ambiance. He kept her focused upon her observations of demonic activity in Italy and upon the prophecy that Dawn had recently discovered (the reason she had come to London). He asked how she felt about the recently called Slayers that she was training, and whether she was getting the support that she needed from the Council. It was all very professional. Buffy hated it.

The conversation didn’t turn personal until their dessert was served, and even then it wasn’t about the two of them. Giles gave her amusing updates about Xander’s dating misadventures and Willow’s frustrations as the head Watcher in South America, and drilled her about Dawn. Buffy wanted to scream in frustration; where was the personal connection that they had once shared?

As he was paying for dinner, Giles said, “I think I’ve got enough information to start with. I should have a translation for Dawn by the end of the week. Can I drive you to your hotel?”

“That would be great,” Buffy answered. “If I had a clue where I was staying, that is. I came to Council Headquarters straight from the airport. I thought I could find a place after talking to you. It didn’t occur to me that it would take so long to see you,” she finished accusingly.

“Yes, well, I am sorry for that,” Giles muttered uncomfortably. “But see here, it’s almost 9:30. You don’t want to go looking for a hotel room at this time of night. You’re welcome to stay in my guest bedroom, if you like.”

“Thanks, Giles,” Buffy said gratefully. “Could we swing by Headquarters first? I stashed my bag in a locker there.”

“Of course,” he agreed. He came around the table and pulled out her chair for her. When she stood up, he put his hand in the small of her back, just as he had done in his office. Buffy began to think that things might be looking up.

~*~*~

Giles kept up a steady conversation in the car, both before and after the stop at Council Headquarters. Buffy had to admit that Giles could be a terrific companion when he set his mind to it. Apparently he had decided to put in the effort this evening, because he was witty, urbane, funny, and oddly desirable.

The more time Buffy spent with him, the more convinced she was that her first impression was correct: Giles was thriving in his new life. She supposed it made sense. After all, as overworked as he had been in high school, he’d been so much happier then than he was the following year. He aged ten years when the Magic Box was destroyed, and he’d seemed downright old that last year in Sunnydale when the destruction of the Council left him completely adrift. Now, he had direction, responsibility, and respect. No wonder he looked so much younger and happier now.

But a fulfilling career didn’t completely explain why he just looked **better** than he ever had before. And it sure as hell didn’t account for the butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach. And as for that heat between her thighs? This was Giles-- **Giles** for God’s sake!—and surely it should take more than a shiny new job to make her body react **that** way to him.

Buffy was so caught up in her Giles epiphany that she stopped listening to the man himself. Her inattention didn’t last long, but he caught it. “I’m sorry, Buffy,” he apologized with obvious embarrassment. “You’re clearly fatigued from your travel, and here I am nattering on.”

“It’s alright, Giles,” Buffy assured him.

“No, it’s not,” he replied. He offered her a hand to help her up from the sofa, and Buffy latched on to it like a lifeline. “I’m happy to see you, but that’s no excu—“

Buffy cut off whatever he was going to say with a sudden, searing kiss. It wasn’t the wisest thing to do, and it certainly wasn’t the best timing in the world, and she knew it. The thing was, she couldn’t hold off for one more second. Young-looking, happy, content Giles was just begging to be kissed, and she had held off far too long already. If she didn’t do it now, he would send her off to bed and she would lose her opportunity.

Giles froze in surprise, and then pushed her away, gently but firmly. “What are you doing, Buffy?” he asked her grimly.

“I would have thought it was obvious,” Buffy said lightly, hoping her easy tone hid her fear of rejection.

He took her literally. “It’s not obvious,” he said sternly. “Not obvious at all. At least not to me. What about The Immortal?”

“He dumped me,” Buffy admitted. “Almost a month ago.” Buffy grinned wryly. “Turns out that Immortals and Slayers don’t have the same sense of time and commitment. Two years together, and he thought it was all temporary.”

The harsh look faded from Giles’ face and was replaced by one of concern. “Oh, Buffy. I’m so sorry. But this… this isn’t what you want.”

“I don’t know about that,” Buffy purred.

“Okay then, this isn’t what **I** want,” Giles said. Buffy’s eyes widened in shock, and he sighed. “You’re obviously hurt and rebounding. I’d like to think that I’m a better man than to take advantage of any woman in those circumstances. I certainly would never do such a thing to a friend.”

“I’m not rebounding,” Buffy asserted. Giles started to say something, but she put her fingers on his mouth. “I’m **not**. The way he broke things off? Well, it was kinda… cruel. He made me see that he isn’t the person I thought he was. Not only am I better off without him, I’m **glad** he’s out of my life.”

“That doesn’t reassure me that this is a good idea, Buffy,” Giles observed.

“Look, the Immortal? I will say this about him. He opened my eyes. About a lot of things.” Buffy stared at Giles intently. “And now that my eyes are open, I can look at someone who’s been before me for nine years and see things that I’d never noticed before.” She smiled seductively, and lightly ran her fingers across his face. “I’d like to see more, things that have always been… hidden.”

He grabbed her hand, and not gently this time. “Don’t play with me, Buffy,” he warned her.

“I wouldn’t do that, Giles.” He looked at her skeptically, and she sighed in frustration. “I **wouldn’t**. Look. I’ve… missed you. I want to see more of you than I do now. I want our relationship to be better. I would never do something to blow it all up. That is as far from what I want as it’s possible to get.”

“I don’t want that either,” Giles said hoarsely. “And Lord knows I too want a closer connection. I’ve always wanted that. But I’m not sure that sex is the way to go about getting it.”

“Oh, it’s not a means to an end,” Buffy answered with a twinkle in her eyes. “It’s an end in itself.” Giles lips twitched in approximation of a smile, and Buffy took that as an invitation to attack them again.

He was still for a long, heart-stopping moment, and then Giles dug his hands up in her hair and began kissing her back. He quickly took possession of the kiss, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and sweeping every corner that he could reach. When Buffy let out a moan, Giles moved his hands to her back, traveling up and down before cupping on her butt. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Giles walked her over to the stairs, placing her on the bottom step so that they could be closer in height. Now that she was over half a foot taller, Buffy was perfectly positioned to feel his erection pushing against her in _just_ the right spot. She moaned again, causing Giles to chuckle. He then brought his hands back to her hair and kissed her for all he was worth. Buffy unbuttoned his shirt and anxiously pushed it off his shoulders. He broke the kiss to push the shirt past his arms and to impatiently pull an undershirt over his head.

Buffy got only a briefest of glances at his chest before he pulled her in for another kiss. She decided she wanted to examine it, and all the rest of Giles, in much more detail. “Let’s go upstairs,” she breathed against his lips. “And don’t worry about getting sheets for the guestroom.”

Giles pulled back and examined Buffy carefully. “Are you sure about this Buffy?”

Buffy looked at Giles with wonder. His eyes were dark with passion, and he looked adorably rumpled. She never would have guessed that he could look like that. “I’m sure that I’m going to jump you in about five seconds, whether we’re on the stairs or in your bed. I’m thinking that the bed might be a bit more comfortable, but it’s your call.”

Giles laughed, and guided her upstairs. He put on a light in his closet, and a pale glow filled the room. Buffy finally got a chance to see Giles’ chest, and concluded that it wasn’t half bad. Not bad at all, actually. He wasn’t molded or sculpted like any of her previous boyfriends, but he was in pretty good shape for a mortal man in his fifties. There was a sprinkling of brown hair on his chest, and his arms were surprisingly muscular considering the sedentary nature of his work.

He smiled at her, a look that was somehow sweet and dangerous at the same time, and Buffy knew that his arms were the only place in the world that she wanted to be. She launched herself at him, and Giles laughed. Buffy wasn’t used to having men laugh at her during sex, and she decided that she could definitely get used to it.

Giles slipped her shirt over her head and began trailing kisses over her collarbone, and Buffy completely forgot about laughing. As he moved his lips and tongue over her torso, finding every last sensitive spot, she forgot about everything else as well, including her own name. He had her almost gibbering with desire, and had yet to touch her below her navel.

Some part of her marveled that **Giles** of all people could make her feel this way, but the larger part of her wasn’t surprised at all. He had always been incredibly observant, attentive and considerate in his Watching; it seemed right, somehow, that he would bring the same characteristics to his lovemaking.

Unable to take the torturous pace much longer, Buffy broke away to pull off her jeans and panties. Giles took advantage of the pause to shuck the rest of his own clothing. As soon as he was naked, he grabbed a foil packet from his nightstand drawer and rolled a condom on himself.

Giles gently pushed Buffy down and then lay on top of her. She was wet and entirely ready for him, but Buffy was still a bit surprised; she had him figured for more of a foreplay type of guy.

It turned out that her assumption was correct. Giles placed his engorged cock along the lips of her vagina, but made no effort to push in. Instead he crooked his body so that he could bring his mouth to her left breast. He alternated between gently swirling the tip with his tongue and harshly sucking as much into his mouth as he could. He used his hand on the other breast to lightly stroke it or roughly pinch the nipple, matching his motions to those of his mouth. And all the while, his penis throbbed at the entrance of her vagina, slowly driving her mad. She thrust upwards, trying to force him in, but he moved back, stubbornly resisting her efforts to take control of their lovemaking.

Buffy arched her back with desire, and Giles slid both his hands underneath her. He brought them to her ass, angling her body upwards, and then slowly sank into her warmth. He waited a moment, giving her a chance to adjust to her size, and then rolled her over on top of him.

Thankful for the opportunity to take control, Buffy rode Giles hard. He kneaded her ass cheeks, and that extra stimulation drove her to her orgasm relatively quickly.

After her orgasm ripped through her, Buffy slowed down. Careful to keep himself embedded in her depths, Giles rolled them back. He set a fast and furious rhythm, and Buffy soon felt herself once more on the edge. She came again, harder than she had the first time, and he followed almost immediately after.

Although Buffy knew that he would need to get rid of the condom soon, she locked her arms around him, wanting to keep him close for a moment. Giles must have felt the same, because he buried his face in her neck, and took a long, deep shuddering breath. They stayed like that for a few minutes, and then Giles gently brought his hand over her face and kissed her.

Giles broke the kiss, and then pulled out of her. He went to the bathroom to dispose of the condom, and came back with a damp washcloth. Giles wordlessly cleaned her up, and then placed a surprisingly chaste kiss upon her damp curls. He then got back in bed and pulled her head onto her chest.

Buffy felt like she should say something, but had no idea what. “Giles, I—“

“Hush,” he chided her. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow. For now, just… sleep.” He tipped his head to kiss her forehead, and Buffy decided that he was right. She concentrated on the steady sound of Giles’ heartbeat, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~

Buffy awoke to the sensation of being watched. Slayers were sensitive to hostile eyes, so the fact that her Spidey Sense was completely quiescent meant that those eyes could only belong to one person. She smiled lazily and murmured, “Morning, oh Watcher of mine.”

There was a slight pause, and Buffy opened her eyes in alarm. She found Giles propped on his elbow, studying her with an odd expression on his face. Her fear of “morning-after” rejection must have shown on her face, for he quickly bent down to give her a gentle kiss. “Good morning, Buffy. I trust you slept well?”

“Better than I have in years,” Buffy said expansively. “Watchers definitely make the best pillows, especially when they’re your own.”

Giles looked slightly uncomfortable, and Buffy wondered what she had said. Before she could ask, Giles said, “I meant to ask you last night, but got slightly… distracted.” Giles grinned, and Buffy smiled back shyly. “What happened with the Immortal?”

Buffy frowned for a moment, but then grinned wryly. “You know about the Buffy Birthday Curse? Well, take the eight previous birthdays and combine them, and you still can’t begin to get at how awful he made my twenty-fifth.”

A pained expression flitted across Giles’ face. “Your birthday. Damnit! I—“

“I understand,” Buffy lied quickly. She wasn’t over the fact that he had completely forgotten her birthday, and didn’t want that pain to overshadow her present happiness. Not this morning. “You probably had an Apocalypse to stop, or something mundane ike that,” she said lightly. “Now that you remember who **your** Slayer is, I’m sure that won’t happen again.”

“Buffy, I—“ Giles shook his head in frustration, and Buffy wondered what he wasn’t saying. His face suddenly went blank, and Buffy received the uncomfortable impression that she had just said something to close him off. She wasn’t surprised when he muttered, “I have to get ready. Mrs. Grady will have my head if I’m late for my first appointment.”

Giles got up to take his shower, and Buffy got up to join him. “You stay there and sleep for a bit longer,” he told her. “I’ll be out quickly.” He then went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Buffy stared at the closed door for a long time. “No morning smoochies then, I guess,” she muttered quietly to herself. Wondering what was going through Giles’ head, Buffy got up and began to get dressed.

~*~*~

Breakfast was a bit strained, but conversation began to flow again during the drive to Council Headquarters. By the time Giles parked his car, they were as comfortable with each other as they had been the previous night on Giles’ couch. True, they weren’t back to the same level of intimacy that they had enjoyed before going to sleep, but they also weren’t as awkward as they had been upon waking.

To Buffy’s delighted surprise, he kissed her in the elevator. His office was on the seventh floor, and the elevator was slow, so he was able to do a long, slow, thorough job of it before they reached their floor. She began to think that she had been oversensitive earlier; maybe Giles just wasn’t a morning person. She tested this theory by slipping an arm around his waist, and he draped an arm over her shoulders. It felt good. More than that, it felt **right**.

Struck by a sudden bit of mischief, Buffy began tickling him in the side. He let go of her and squirmed away, giggling like a small boy. Looking for strategic cover, he began backing around the corner… and collided with his secretary. The look on her face quickly sobered them both.

Mrs. Grady stared at Buffy. Her sharp eyes trailed the length of Buffy’s body, taking in her unwashed hair, her wrinkled shirt, the jeans she had worn the day before, and her non-sensible platform shoes. After she had examined Buffy from head to toe, Mrs. Grady switched her eyes back to Buffy’s face and sniffed in evident disapproval.

Trying to break the tension, Giles coughed uncomfortably. “Ah, good morning Mrs. Grady. I believe you met Ms. Summers yesterday?”

“Yes, I did,” the secretary said primly. “A most impatient young lady. Kept trying to jump ahead of others in your schedule, seemed to think that she had a special claim on your attention.”

Mortified, Buffy turned a bright red. Yes, she did think she had a special claim on Giles, he was **her** Watcher after all, but she was embarrassed to hear that assumption spoken aloud. It made her sound out of line, somehow.

Giles noticed Buffy’s discomfort, and gave her an encouraging smile. “Um, yes. About that… I apologize for not leaving instructions about Ms. Summers before. That was an oversight upon my part. For the future, Mrs. Grady, Buffy Summers is **always** to be ushered into my office, regardless of the schedule.”

Giles’ secretary sniffed scornfully. “Oh, so it’s like that, is it?”

“Like what?” Buffy demanded hotly.

Mrs. Grady ignored her, but Buffy suspected that the words directed at Giles were really aimed at her. “How was I supposed to know that she was another one of your little tarts? You keep rearranging your schedule based upon whichever Slayer is warming your sheets at any given moment, and nothing ever gets done!”

“Mrs. Grady,” Giles with deceptive mildness. Buffy knew him well enough to know that he was angry, but also slightly embarrassed. Buffy suspected that the charge had more merit than she would like. She scowled at the thought. “I have told you before to leave the question of my private affairs alone!”

“But they aren’t your private affairs, Mr. Giles,” she said with irritation. “There’s always another girl trying to get a bit more of your time by putting herself in your bed. And every time you permit one Slayer to do disrupt your schedule, another doesn’t get the guidance she needs. And I am the one who must—“

“Mrs. Grady!” Giles roared, all pretence at civility now gone. “That is **enough**. I am very aware that some Slayers try to sleep their way into undeserved commands, and that others develop an unhealthy attachment to me. I do not need another lecture on this matter from you, now or ever.” He took a deep breath, and then continued. “Moreover, in the future, you will show Ms. Summers a great deal more respect. She bore the weight of the world’s protection, alone and unaided, for too many years. She deserves more than your sneers and snide innuendoes.”

“Of course, Mr. Giles,” she said with sarcastic respect. “Whatever you say, sir.” She plopped down at her desk and began ostentatiously rifling through stacks of papers.

Even with her Slayer hearing, Buffy barely heard Giles mutter “Bloody cow,” under his breath. He stalked into his office, trusting Buffy to follow him, and closed the door firmly behind her.

“I am so sorry you had to deal with that dreadful woman,” Giles said sincerely.

“Yeah, I’m thinking Mrs. Grady isn’t going to make the first round of Christmas card recipients this year,” Buffy grumbled. “First she keeps me waiting for hours to see **my** Watcher, acting like all those newbies and Slayer-wannabes have just as much claim on you as I do, and then she acts like I seduced you just to get an earlier appointment time.”

Giles studied Buffy carefully, and she found herself squirming under the scrutiny. Finally, he asked, “Did you?”

“I didn’t need to,” Buffy joked. “I was already locked in as your first appointment for the day.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Giles said sternly. “And you know it. Did you kiss me last night to ensure that I would put you first the next time you found yourself needing my assistance?”

“I can’t believe you,” Buffy responded hotly. “I kissed you last night because you are a handsome, charming man, and I wanted to kiss you. End of story.”

Giles relaxed noticeably, and Buffy wondered he had been worrying about that all morning. “I must confess that I’m relieved to hear that,” he admitted.

“Besides,” Buffy added mischievously. “I don’t have to. You were my Watcher first, so that means that I always come first with you anyway.”

The tension was back, worse than before, and Buffy realized that that was the worst thing she could have said. Nevertheless, she was completely unprepared for his response. “I’m not your Watcher. Not any more.”

“What do you mean?” Buffy demanded angrily. “Of course you’re my Watcher. The Powers that Be gave you to me, and you’re **mine**! I mean, yeah, we don’t live in the same country and I have to take a plane to see you these days, but you’re still my Watcher.”

“No, I’m not,” Giles said quietly. “You fired me. Don’t you remember? You told me that I had nothing left to teach you.”

Buffy hissed in shock. She couldn’t believe he would bring that up, not after all this time. “I, I thought we were okay about that,” she said miserably.

“We are,” Giles said. He lifted up her face so that he could meet her gaze. “We **are**. As friends, we are. But as Watcher and Slayer?” He shrugged unhappily. “You never re-employed me. And then Willow did her spell, and there were so many Slayers, and they all, to a woman, needed me. They all had so much to learn, and were so anxious for me to teach them. They all wanted guidance.” A bitter look crept across his face. “You took away the last of my vocation, but all the new Slayers gave it back to me. I would say that you are the only Slayer in the world who **isn’t** mine.”

Buffy felt a rage building up inside her, somewhere too deep and primal for her to examine it. “You’re wrong, Giles. You’ll always be my Watcher. It doesn’t matter how far you run from me, you’ll always be mine.”

“So,” Giles summarized angrily. “I’m your property, is that it? Is that why you slept with me last night? So that you could restate your claim?”

Buffy stared at him incredulously. Did he really think that she would stoop so low? One look at his face assured her that yes, part of him believed that exactly. Her amorphous fury began to take shape and form. “What about you?” she demanded. “Why did you sleep with me?”

“You initiated it,” Giles answered nastily.

“True” she admitted. “But you didn’t exactly beat me off with a stick, now did you Giles? Mrs. Grady, the CoW’s cow, seemed to imply that you were sleeping with half the women on the Slayer payroll. Is that true?”

“I’m not a monk, Buffy,” Giles said simply.

Buffy goggled at him. “Are you saying that you are?”

“No,” Giles responded. “Despite Mrs. Grady’s accusation, I am quite aware of when someone is using sex to get what he or she wants. Or at least, I am when my personal feelings aren’t involved,” he added with open suspicion. “But what if I **were** fucking every Slayer in her late twenties or thirties, all 350 of them? How would that affect you in any way?”

“What?” Buffy asked incredulously.

“You haven’t been part of my life for a long time now,” Giles pointed out. “Not as my Slayer, and not as my friend. You have no right to comment on my sex life.”

Buffy stared at him in disbelief. “How about now, when I’m **part** of your sex life?”

“Especially now,” Giles asserted. “Since I have absolutely no idea why you inserted yourself into my sex life.” Buffy started to protest, but he overrode her. Before yesterday, I hadn’t seen you since our last meeting about Angel. That’s been what, a year and a half?” Giles’ eyes flashed with barely repressed anger. “And then you show up out of nowhere, expecting me to drop everything for you and seducing me when I d—“

“You bastard!” Buffy screamed. She picked up the first object that came to hand, a delicate vase that Dawn had given him on his fiftieth birthday, and threw it at him. He ducked, and the vase sailed over his head, shattering on the wall behind him.

Buffy stared at the broken vase for a moment, shocked that such a small object could break into so many pieces. It was almost as broken as her faith in Giles, or as his faith in her.

Giles was staring at the vase as well, and they both looked up at the same moment. Their gazes met, and both were filled with the horrified knowledge that they had gone too far, pushed too hard.

It was too much for Buffy. She grabbed her purse and ran out of the office. She heard Giles calling after her, but didn’t slow down until she was several blocks away from Council Headquarters. She jumped in the first cab to stop for her, and told the driver to take her to Heathrow Airport. If she couldn’t catch an earlier flight back to Rome she would just hang around the airport until her flight on the next day. She figured that Giles could mail her her suitcase.

~*~*~

It took Buffy several hours of fighting with airport officials to get an earlier flight, but she finally succeeded in getting aboard a puddle-jumper. She had two layovers on the way back to Rome, but she was oddly happy about them. As long as she could concentrate upon the hassles of the journey, she didn’t need to think about how she had left things with Giles. When she was on the plane, with nothing to do but sit, the confrontation loomed large in her mind.

She had to admit that he wasn’t entirely wrong in his accusations. Some part of her **had** found him more desirable now that he was no longer at her beck and call. And another part of her **had** been jealous to see him tending to so many other women. Those two factors may have led to her laying claim to him, as her Watcher and as her man, though Buffy honestly believed that there was a lot more going on as well. Where he was wrong, however, was in his assumption that she had acted consciously. She truly hadn’t realized what she was doing.

What was harder to admit was that they could have worked things out if she hadn’t run. She’d been right to leave, it was clear that they had both needed to stand back and take a breather, but she should have come back after they’d had a chance to cool down. Since there was no way they could ever settle this particular dispute over the phone, her decision to go back to Rome meant that the hurts they had inflicted upon each other would never get healed. This fight would end no differently than any of their others; it would be swept under the rug and would never be mentioned again.

Unfortunately, that meant that their night of passion would also become a taboo subject. That knowledge sickened Buffy, and she finally broke down in tears.

Far too many hours later, Buffy dragged herself home. She grunted at Dawn and then went to her room to collapse upon her bed. She only slept for a few hours before hunger woke her. Realizing that she hadn’t had anything to eat since that uncomfortable breakfast the day before, Buffy got up and went to the kitchen.

When she got there, she heard a beep from her answering machine. Too depressed to truly care, but vaguely curious all the same, Buffy hit play. The voice on the machine was so unexpected that it jolted her into full awareness.

 _Hello, Buffy. I know that I am probably the last person on earth that you wish to speak to, but I don’t like where we left things. I’d like to come to Rome and see if we can come to some sort of resolution._ There was a pause, and then the sound of Giles sighing. _You were right, you know. I am your Watcher, first and last, and always will be. That is the most basic rock of my existence, and I need to just stop fighting it. Coming to see you is my first step in that direction. And if you don’t want to see me, at least I can drop off the bag that you left in my car._

Buffy laughed with joy and relief, and then began crying for the same reasons. When she was all cried out, she called Giles on his cell-phone. From the background sounds, Buffy guessed that he was already in flight. She was humbled by the knowledge that Mr. Dependability would do something so irresponsibly spontaneous just for her. And overjoyed to realize just how much she meant to him.

Buffy took a deep breath and said everything that needed to be said. “Hey, Giles. When does your flight get in? And is it okay if I don’t get down any sheets for the guest bedroom?”

THE END


End file.
